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Ship Shaped Buildings (page 1)

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This section is organized in alphabetical order by state. Most of these structures were built to look like ships and never touched water. A few real ships have been included.

Pirate Ship
Gulf Shores, AL
This Pirate Ship is located at the back entrance to Souvenir City. [map]

S.S. Blinky Jr. Building
Casa Grande, AZ

2012:
2017:
2020:
The S.S. Blinky Jr. was built by C.J. "Blinky" Wilson who had a son in the Navy. It was built in the 1940s as a gas station. There was a neon sign shaped like a lighthouse advertising Beacon Ethyl Gasoline. The back part of the ship had repair bays. The building was used as an auto agency from 1946-1981. The anchor appears to be the original. A smokestack and an exterior staircase to the top level are now missing. Also gone are the tires painted to look like life preservers which were installed on the railing. The building now houses a thrift store. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was repainted sometime after 2018. [map]

More Arizona:
Canyon King Pizzeria (Page)
Copper Belle (Phoenix) [vintage; gone]

Delta Queen Car Wash
Campbell, CA
The Delta Queen Car Wash was modeled after a Mississippi Riverboat and built in 1972. It is now part of the Classic Car Wash chain. The car wash also featured a statue of a waving captain. He was there in 2008 but gone by 2014. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Boat Houses
Encinitas, CA
These Boat Houses were built from wood and cement by Miles Minor Kellogg in the late 1920s. He used salvaged wood from a local hotel and the Moonlight Beach dance house which were demolished in 1928. The S.S. Encinitas and S.S. Moonlight are now used as apartments. For more, see this website. [map]

Good Ship Grace
Los Angeles, CA
The Good Ship Grace was built in 1941. It was used as the home and studio for preacher Paul Myers' Haven of Rest radio broadcasts. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Pardee Sea Scout Base
Marina Del Rey, CA
The Pardee Sea Scout Base was designed by Weldon J. Fulton and built in 1975. It is located in Burton Chace Park. The building was used by the local Boy Scout and Sea Scout troops. The L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors took over the property in 2002 and renamed it The Boathouse. The building was restored in 2019. These photos are from 2020. For more, see this website. [map]

Boat House
Marina del Rey, CA
This Boat House was built in 1966. It was probably a single-family residence originally. It is now a multi-family house with three units. For more, see this website. [map]

Sea Scouts Building
Palo Alto, CA
The Sea Scouts Building was designed by Birge Clark in 1941. The Sea Scouts vacated the building in 1991. In 2012, the building was restored and turned into the EcoCenter community center for environmental education. For more, see this website. [map]

USS Neversail
San Diego, CA
The USS Neversail, officially known as the USS Recruit, is a two-thirds scale model of a Destroyer Escort. It was built in 1949 and used to instruct Navy recruits. It was the first of three ships built like this. The ones in Port Deposit, MD and Orlando, FL have been destroyed. The San Diego ship is no long in use. It is hoped that it may be turned into a museum. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Ship Ashore
Smith River, CA
The Ship Ashore gift shop was a real ship adapted for use on land. This 156-foot-long ship was built in 1925 as a private yacht. In 1941, it served in the Navy as the USS Garnet. There was also a small museum inside the ship with WWII artifacts, items relating to local history, etc. The shop closed in 2016. [map]

Palace Showboat [gone]
Stockton, CA
The Palace Showboat was part of the Pollardville complex which opened in 1957 and closed in 2007. The ghost town/Western-themed complex was built around the Chicken Kitchen restaurant to draw in passing motorists. The Showboat was used for entertainment (theatre, music, and dancing). It was originally constructed in 1965 but I'm not sure if it had it's riverboat look then. Pollardville was demolished in 2010 and will be replaced with houses and a strip mall. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

former Duffy Electric Boat Company
Sunset Beach, CA

2013:
2022:
 2023:
The Duffy Electric Boat Company building is shaped like a tugboat. Does anyone know when this was built and what business was here originally? Fuze Sports occupied this building in 2013. By 2015, the building was housing Huntington Harbor Boat Rentals. In 2020, the ship's mast had been removed. The building has been vacant since around 2021. [map]

Ships
page 2		 Ships
page 3		 Ships
page 4		 Ships
page 5		 Noah's Arks

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